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November 9, 2008

AfternDowningStreet.org must have been reading my mind. I've been looking for some direction to continue the necessary work of redeeming at least two aspects of our American heretage and national imperative: respect for the rule of law and maintaining equality in the eyes of the law. At there site you will find lots of reports to inspire you and hopefully move you to action. Go to this link for specific Obama reports, including one about getting Robert Gates OUT of the administration (and into the docks at the Hague?): http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/obama

PEACE IN OUR TIMEThere are major signs of real change and discouraging signs of the same old militarism emerging from the Obama transition team. We're tracking this news online:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/obamaUnited for Peace and Justice and other peace and justice groups will soon be urging local groups and coalitions and newly forming collections of citizens to schedule meetings between now and January to meet at length with our newly elected or reelected U.S. representatives and senators. Not only do we need to communicate the public demand to FULLY end the occupation[my bold] of Iraq AND the occupation of Afghanistan, but there is an opening right now for us to advocate a shift of resources from killing to living. Find out what your representative wants to fund, build a coalition with labor, environmental, and other domestic groups, and talk about how much money is going into wars and wasteful militarism. Ask your Senators to insist that Bush not negotiate a treaty in Iraq without the Constitutionally required approval of the U.S. Senate. Watch for details on this and other actions at:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/activismIMPEACHMENT AND PROSECUTIONPresident Elect Obama has committed to abandoning the practice of rewriting laws with signing statements, to ending warrantless spying, to working with Congress to rewrite the PATRIOT Act, and to asking his Attorney General to investigate the crimes of Bush and Cheney. It will take everything we have to hold him to those commitments, but that will not be enough.
The coming year is our opening to begin shifting power back from the White House to where the Constitution put it: in the hands of our representatives in Congress. If we do not accomplish this under a relatively law-abiding president, we cannot expect to do so under the next outlaw. In this regard it is frightening to see committee chairs behaving as if no oversight will be required in the coming years, and as if all the outstanding subpoenas and contempt citations of the past two years were just campaign gimmicks. We must demand that Congress reissue all outstanding subpoenas in January or, better yet, enforce them itself. Work with us on this at:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/congressWe also need to build resistance in the country and in Congress to the possibility of Bush pardoning his subordinates for crimes he authorized. Impeachment is possible, and has been done before, during the final months in office, as well as after the offenders are out of office. And prosecution is now finally possible at the local, state, federal, foreign, and international levels. Improved policies are well worth celebrating and pushing forward, but if the penalty for Bush and Cheney's crimes is merely that Obama and Biden cease committing some of them, we will be guaranteeing ourselves another Bush and Cheney, or worse, down the road. This newly released book includes Congressman Dennis Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment, a list from Elizabeth de la Vega of crimes committed, and an essay by David Swanson on how we can prosecute the crimes:
http://tinyurl.com/3kkwpyPlease get involved in the many aspects of the campaign for accountability at:
http://convictbushcheney.orgTAKE ACTION NOVEMBER 10thThe National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) is planning a protest at the U.S. Justice Department on November 10th. Its members are willing to risk going to jail to urge the indictment of Bush and Cheney for war crimes. Let's all of us contact the Justice Department urge Attorney General Mukasey to meet with NCNR.
In September organizers from NCNR sent a letter to Mukasey urging the indictment of Bush and Cheney and requesting a meeting to discuss the matter. Mukasey has not responded. Please sign this petition, which will send an email to Mukasey asking him to meet with NCNR.
Then mark November 10, 2008, on your calendar and plan to either phone the Department of Justice or join us at the protest there at noon. The phone numbers are 202-514-2000 and 202-353-1555. Stay involved in the campaign to convict Bush and Cheney. SIGN THE PETITIONhttp://democrats.com/mukasey-indict-bush-cheneyCHANGE THE MEDIA: NO MORE CROOKS AND LIARS

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Buddhist Message

Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty.-His Holiness the Dalai LamaI believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace.-His Holiness the Dalai Lama